The largest container ship ever to call at a North American port is scheduled to arrive at the Port of Los Angeles on 26 December 2015. French shipping line CMA-CGM launched CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin on 10 December and the vessel is scheduled to make her maiden call at APM Terminals-Pier 400 at the Port of Los Angeles.
The ship has a capacity of nearly 18,000TEU, which is about a third larger than the biggest container ships that currently call at the San Pedro Bay port complex.
“It’s fitting that the largest container ship to ever traverse North American waters would make its first call here at the Port of Los Angeles,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti, who recently met with Founder and Chairman Jacques Saadé and other top CMA CGM executives.
“The arrival of CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin sends a powerful message that our port stands among the world’s greatest, and that we are prepared to continue growing and adapting to the demands of our global economy.”
CMA CGM, founded and led by Jacques R. Saadé is the world’s third largest and France’s top container shipping company. Its 470 vessels call more than 400 ports in the world. In 2014 over 12.2 million TEU were carried.
